


baby, just let it snow

by curiouswraith



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, Marriage Proposal, Minor Character(s), Snowed In
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:54:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28298574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curiouswraith/pseuds/curiouswraith
Summary: It was Christmas Eve. Wraith and Wattson had made plans with Mirage, Rampart, and Pathfinder to spend Christmas Eve together at Mirgae's place above Paradise Lounge. They would exchange gifts, watch a few Christmas films, play some games, maybe build some snowmen, and have dinner together. The usual holiday activities."Natalie!" Wraith yelled, not taking her eyes off the window. "Natalie, I think you want to come see this!""What is it, mon cherié?" Wattson asked. Wraith moved to the side to let Wattson see. "Oh."Outside their window was snow that reached all the way to the windowsill. Even more snow violently twirled and danced in the air as wind blew it around. They weren't even able to see the trees behind their house. This only meant one thing…They were snowed in.
Relationships: Wattson | Natalie Paquette/Wraith | Renee Blasey
Comments: 5
Kudos: 54





	baby, just let it snow

**Author's Note:**

> happy holidays! i orginally meant to post this yesterday and make this two chapters long, but i decided not to. mainly because i passed the fuck out...
> 
> enjoy!

Ever since the start of December, the Legends have been preparing for Christmas. Mirage held his second annual Holo-day Bash—this time, without the Mirage Voyage. The train returned to World's Edge one more time where everyone fought to capture the train or be the last squad alive. Every Legend also took their turns of wearing Christmas outfits and carrying Christmas-themed guns both during the Winter Express games and in normal matches. To say the least, it helped keep the Games lively and festive during the holiday season for both their viewers _and_ the Legends themselves. 

Outside the Games, there were other Festivities happening. 

For the whole month, all of the Legends were running about and preparing for their own Christmas celebrations. They made lists, shopped for Christmas decorations and presents, and decorated their numerous living quarters. The Games hosted another Christmas party for the Legends this year too, which allowed for all of them to relax and mingle with each other for a night. But unlike the year before, there was tension left in the air. 

There was nothing like some good ole' grudges during the holidays.

Now it was the morning of Christmas Eve. Wraith and Wattson had made plans with Mirage, Rampart, and Pathfinder to spend Christmas Eve together at Mirgae's place above Paradise Lounge. They would exchange gifts, watch a few Christmas films, play some games, maybe build some snowmen, and have dinner together before returning home. The usual holiday activities. 

Pathfinder was already at Mirage's place since he basically lived there with him and Rampart was a five minute walk away from him. Wraith and Wattson, on the other hand, were clear across town at their—technically Wraith's—house. That meant that they needed to leave right after breakfast if they wanted to make it to Mirage's on time. 

Stretching her arms above her head and arching her back, Wraith let out a satisfied sigh. She let her hands fall into her lap and slowly looked around. It was almost completely dark in their room, light from outside sneaking inside through the cracks in the curtains. There was also a small table-top tree faintly glowing on top of their dresser. That was Wattson's idea. 

" _There, now we have some Christmas spirit in our room!_ " Wattson had said after she set it up. Wraith would never admit it, but the idea was absolutely perfect and so like Wattson. 

Speaking of Wattson…

Wraith looked over her shoulder. Behind her, Wattson was completely sprawled out and fast asleep. She had basically _begged_ Wraith to let her be the big spoon the night before. She said she wanted to keep her warm and protect her from any "evil holiday voices." With her adorable reasonings mixed with the puppy-dog eyes Wattson gave her, how was Wraith supposed to resist? It also gave her an excuse to listen to Wattson's breathing and heartbeat while she slept—which helped soothe her. 

Pushing her fringes back, Wraith leaned over and gave Wattson a kiss on her forehead. Wattson smiled in her sleep. 

Donning her own soft smile, Wraith stood up from their bed and walked out of their room. The second she opened the door, she shivered. The air pierced her skin with tiny needles and the hardwood floor sent a shock through her. Maybe it was time to invest into some more rugs. She closed the door behind herself with a soft _click_ and made her way down the hallway with her arms wrapped around herself. When she reached the end of the hallway, she stopped and checked the thermostat.

Twenty-two degrees Celsius. Why did Wattson keep it so _cold_ at night?

Wraith turned the thermostat up a couple degrees before switching the settings from "cool" to "heat." She nodded to herself. Hopefully now it'll start warming up. 

She made her way into the sitting room, turned the lamps on, leaned over the couch, and pulled the right-side curtain open. What she saw outside shocked her. 

"Natalie!" Wraith yelled, not taking her eyes off the window. " _Natalie_ , I think you want to come see this!" 

What felt like minutes passed before Wraith heard a door open down the hallway followed by footsteps. Wattson appeared in the entryway, blanket wrapped around herself as she rubbed her eyes. 

"What is it, _mon cherié_?" Wattson asked, immediately yawning after. Wraith moved to the side to let Wattson see. "Oh."

Outside their window was snow that reached all the way to the windowsill. Even more snow violently twirled and danced in the air as wind blew it around. They weren't even able to see the trees behind their house. This only meant one thing… 

They were snowed in.  
—  
Wraith put the lighter down on the coffee table behind her and wiped her hands off against each other, looking at the fireplace with a smile on her face. Despite the wind outside, she was able to successfully clean the fireplace out and start a fire within a matter of fifteen minutes. 

During that time, Wattson was updating herself on the weather and what was going on. 

"Blisk messaged the group chat earlier this morning and this is what he said." Wattson said. She handed Wraith her phone and allowed for her to read the text message. 

_Blisk:_  
_Good morning, Legends. As most of you are aware, we had an unexpected blizzard last night that's supposed to last for a few days. Until further notice, all games will be postponed until the blizzard warning has been lifted.  
Merry Christmas and happy holidays._  
_(Sent: 06:31)_

Wraith handed the phone back to Wattson with a look of concern on her face. "A few days, huh?"

" _Oui._ " Wattson said. "What're we supposed to tell Mirage?"

"Mirage got the message too, so he probably already knows that we're not going to be able to make it." Wraith said. 

Right on cue, there came a loud buzzing mixed with a ringtone from the kitchen. The two of them glanced at each other before quickly making their way into the kitchen. 

Wraith picked her phone up from the counter and looked at the caller ID. "It's Mirage."—she tapped the green button and put her phone on speaker phone—"Hello?"

" _Good morning, sleepyhead,_ " Mirage greeted, " _did you get the message?_ "

"Yeah, Wattson just showed it to me." Wraith said, looking up at Wattson. 

Hearing the name "Wattson" come out of Wraith's mouth sounded odd to both of them. She barely called Wattson by her Legend name anymore. The only time she did was when she was talking about her to someone else. Other than that, she always called her by her first name or by Nat—occasionally, even pet names. 

" _Oh, Wattson's up, too?_ " Mirage asked. 

"She's right here with me, she can hear you." Wraith said. 

"Good morning!" Wattson said. 

" _Good morning, Wattson. Merry Christmas, or… however you say it in French…_ " Mirage said. 

"' _Joyeux Noël_.'"

" _Joy-joy-... joy-eh… oh, I give up._ " Mirage said, sighing in defeat. 

Wattson laughed, "It's okay, Elliot, you tried. And merry Christmas to you, too."

" _Thank you._ "

" _De rien_."

" _Anyway, I'm looking at how much snow there is outside and how hard it's blowing, and I don't think you guys are going to be able to make it here. Hell, I don't even think Rampart's going to be able to make it…_ " Mirage said.

" _It's okay, friend, I'm here. We can celebrate Christmas together!_ " Pathfinder said in the background. 

" _Right, just you and me Path…_ " Mirage said. " _Anyway, just wanted to call and see if you ladies got the message. I'll leave you two be now. Merry Christmas!_ "

"Merry Christmas, I'll talk to you later, Mirage." Wraith said. 

" _Alright, bye._ " Mirage said. 

"Bye." Wraith hung up and put her phone back down on the counter. Her and Wattson stared at each other, silently trying to decide on what to do. "Tea?"

"How about hot chocolate?"

"I can go for some hot chocolate."  
—  
"Wraith, calm down, I think they're crushed enough. If you crush them more, they're going to turn into dust."

"Maybe I _want_ some peppermint dust." Wraith said.

Wattson laughed into Wraith's shoulder. " _Wraith_."

Wraith smiled. "Okay, okay, I'll stop."

She had been watching Wraith for the past two minutes crush candy canes into bits, laughing at how much Wraith seemed to enjoy her task. If she didn't stop her now, she probably _would_ crush the poor candy canes until they were as powdery as the snow outside. 

Wattson let go of Wraith's waist and walked around the island, Wraith following her like a baby duck to its mother. "Now that you're done killing candy canes,"—she turned around and handed Wraith a small bowl and a cheese grater—"you can grate some chocolate."

"Grate… _chocolate_ …?" Wraith asked, looking inside the bowl. There was a small jagged block of chocolate in it. She looked back up and raised an eyebrow at Wattson. 

"Yes, grate chocolate so we can sprinkle it on the hot chocolate." Wattson said. Wraith watched as Wattson grabbed another block of chocolate from a bag on the counter. "I recommend you get to it before it starts melting, you don't want chocolate all over your hands."

"Right." 

Wraith put the bowl down and picked the chocolate up. It was freezing cold to the touch and hard as a rock. That explained what Wattson had been pulling out from the freezer. Putting the chocolate to the grater, Wraith was quick to get to work. 

While Wraith busied herself with grating chocolate, Wattson focused on her own task. She set another block of chocolate down on a wooden cutting board and grabbed a chef's knife. While she could've asked Wraith to grate more chocolate, she didn't require the fanciness of chocolate shavings for this part. She couldn't put a full chocolate block in the heating blender nor did she want to use chocolate bars. All she needed was cut up chocolate chunks. 

While she cut the chocolate up, she hummed a song to herself. 

"What song is that?" Wraith asked when Wattson finished cutting up the chocolate she needed. 

"' _Petit Papa Noël_ ,' it's a French Christmas song. My papa and I would always sing it when we made hot chocolate together every Christmas Eve." Wattson said. 

"Why don't you teach me how to sing it?" Wraith asked. 

Wattson stopped and stared at Wraith with shock written all over her face. "Really?"

"Really."

Wattson nearly squealed in delight, but instead hopped up and down and flapped her hands about. Wraith smiled at her reaction. She would do anything for her if it meant she would get a reaction like that. 

For the next twenty minutes, Wraith and Wattson were moving about their kitchen. Their task of making hot chocolate took longer than expected as Wattson couldn't stop laughing at how Wraith struggled to sing in French. The poor woman already struggled enough just trying to speak it. 

Wraith, on the other hand, kept getting distracted by… well, just about anything Wattson did. Sing, hum, laugh, smile, prepare ingredients. Everything she did was done with such elegance and beauty that Wraith couldn't help but watch and listen to every little thing she did. 

"Would you like some whipped cream on your hot chocolate, _cherié_?" Wattson asked as she got the whipped cream out from the fridge and shook it. 

"Yes, please?" Wraith asked. She didn't seem like the type of person, but Wraith secretly _loved_ whipped cream and had it whenever she could. The only person who knew about this was Wattson. It's why they always had at least two cans of whipped cream in the fridge at all times. 

Wattson took the cap off the can and generously topped both mugs of hot chocolate with whipped cream before putting the cap back on. "Chocolate?"

Wraith tapped her finger on the counter a few times in thought. "Surprise me."

"Do you want me to surprise you with peppermint, too?" 

"Sure." 

Wattson shook her head and smiled. She might as well have surprised her with the whipped cream, too. 

Once she was done adding toppings, Wattson handed Wraith her mug. Wraith gave her a soft 'thanks'—which Wattson returned with a ' _de rien_ '—before putting the mug up to her mouth. 

" _Wait_ ,"—Wraith froze and looked at Wattson from behind her whipped cream—"cheers?" Watson asked, holding her mug out. 

Wraith rolled her eyes with a smile and held her mug out, too. "Cheers." 

They clinked their mugs together before both enjoying their hot chocolate. Wattson only had a sip from hers, instead wanting to see Wraith's reaction. She watched as Wraith took a cautious sip from it, furrowing her eyebrows and licking her lips immediately after. She eyed the drink—looking like she was trying to determine if she liked it out not—before taking another bigger drink from it. 

"Jesus, Nat, that's…" Wraith's eyes flashed white for a second. When her eyes returned to their ice blue colour, she smiled. " _Perfect_."

Wattson returned her smile, " _Merci_."

This time, Wattson took a long drink from her hot chocolate. What she failed to notice while she downed basically half her drink was how Wraith put her mug down and disappeared from her spot. Moments later, Wattson jumped when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist.

Wraith nuzzled her nose into the side of Wattson's face, the feeling of her smile hovering over her skin. "Thank _you_." 

Wattson didn't say anything in return, instead putting her mug down with a soft _thunk_. She turned so that she was completely facing Wraith and wrapped her arms around her neck. They stared into each other's eyes, letting the world around them melt away. The only thing that mattered in that moment was each other.

Wraith was the first to break, removing a hand from Wattson's waist and using it to gently hold her chin between her thumb and forefinger. She leaned forward, closed her eyes, and pressed her lips against Wattson's. Wattson naturally returned the kiss, enjoying the taste of chocolate and a hint of peppermint on Wraith's lips.

It wasn't rushed or heated. Instead, it was soft and tender. It made their hearts ache in such a way that said, "this is home, you're home." It was safe. _They_ were safe.

The seriousness of the moment melted away as Wattson couldn't help but smile. In turn, this made Wraith's heart race and her own smile to appear. Then came the laughter. Both of them dissolved into a fit of laughter and Wraith struggled to keep Wattson from falling. She moved her hand away from Wattson's chin and held onto the edge of the counter. Wattson was the one to break the kiss, throwing her head back and holding onto Wraith with a death grip. They continued to laugh from nothing but pure happiness, hearts warm from the love they had. When Wraith pulled Wattson back up, they shared a few more quick kisses before leaning their foreheads against each other's.

" _Je t'aime_."

"I love you too, Wraith."

—

Christmas Eve was here and gone and Wraith and Wattson spent their day as festive as could be. Their morning was spent lazing about their sitting room watching Christmas films—some in French with English captions, some in English—and ate popcorn and candy canes. Wattson put Christmas music on and they laughed the afternoon away, singing and twirling each other about. And to end the day, they opened a Christmas Eve gift from each other.

Wraith solved the mystery of disappearance the jumper Wattson bought a month ago and religiously wore on their down time when she opened her present. She had to admit, it _was_ odd to see Wattson wear something that was lavender. Not unwelcomed, just odd. And it was an added plus that her newest addition to her wardrobe smelled like her.

Wattson, on the other hand, looked like she was ready to explode from excitement when she opened hers. She never doubted her for a second, but it was heartwarming when Wraith did something for her to prove she _did_ listen to her. For about two weeks now, Wattson had been talking about how she was running low on things like screws, wires, soldering coils, and batteries and needed to go to the hardware store for some more before she could continue working. So Wraith put together a box of refills for her—making sure she had plenty to last her for a few of her bigger projects. She was once again able to work without worrying about how many supplies she was using for a long time.

Now it was Christmas morning, and which meant it was time for them to open the rest of their presents. Both of them tried telling each other that they didn't need to get them a lot for Christmas—or anything, as a matter of fact. But, of course, neither of them listened…

"This is a lot of rubbish." Wraith said. Her and Wattson looked about their sitting room floor and at the torn-up wrapping paper and empty boxes and bags scattered about.

"Maybe we should've thrown it away as we were opening presents…" Wattson mumbled.

Wraith shrugged. "Probably."

Wattson reached down, picked a stray red ribbon from the floor, stood back up, and placed it on top of her head. She looked over at Wraith with a goofy smile on her face. Wraith couldn't help but smile and roll her eyes at her.

"I'll go get a rubbish bag." Wraith said. She got up from the couch and disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Wattson to herself.

Wattson looked down at the coffee table—the ribbon falling off her head—and her smile softened. She picked up one of the pictures off the table and studied it.

It was a Polaroid picture of her and Wraith from that morning. Wraith knew how much Wattson loved capturing moments, so she decided to get her a Polaroid camera. Wattson already had plenty of cameras, but it never hurt to have another. And to celebrate, Wattson decided to make her first picture with her newest camera memorable. So Wattson—who was holding the camera—gave Wraith a kiss on the cheek while Wraith hugged her shoulders and laughed. It was always nice to have pictures like that. Not to mention, Wraith looked peaceful.

Wraith was always so _tense_. No matter where they went, she never let her guard down and was ready to pull her kunai out at a moment's notice. She always kept her eye on Wattson and their friends and would jump at any noise or movement that seemed out of place. But she couldn't help it, her trauma and her voices made her the way she was. Wattson only hoped that she was able to _somehow_ help ease her mind—even if it was just a tiny bit.

"Natalie?" Wattson snapped out of her trance, eyes immediately meeting Wraith's. Wraith frowned. "Are you okay? You look like you're about to cry."

"I'm okay, _mon amour_ , I was only thinking." Wattson said.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Wraith asked.

"Maybe later over lunch? We still have this mess to clean up." Wattson said, gesturing to all the rubbish on the floor.

"Right."

Without another word said, Wattson turned on some music—this time some instrumental music—and the two of them got to work. Wraith was in charge of collecting all the boxes and bags and putting them in stacks near the front door while Wattson scooped up all the wrapping paper and threw it in a rubbish bag. With the two of them working, their mess was cleaned up within a matter of minutes.

Wattson grabbed the last pile of wrapping paper, but momentarily stopped. She quickly shoved the paper in the bag before letting it go and reaching under the tree. Somehow, there was a forgotten present. The present in question was thin, hard, light, and rectangular.

More importantly, it had her name on it.

"Wraith?"

"Yes, Nat?"

"We forgot a present."

Wraith popped back inside from the mudroom, walked over to Wattson, and looked over her shoulder. "I did that on purpose."—Wattson looked at Wraith with a confused look on her face—"I wanted you to open this one last."

Wattson grinned. "Is it a 'best for last' gift?"

"Yeah, let's go with that." Wraith said. "You might want to sit down for this one."

Giving Wraith another confused look, Wattson walked over and sat down on the edge of the chaise. Unlike her other presents, she opened this one with care. She pulled the tabs off one by one and gently took the tape off until the wrapping paper was completely off. "It's a book."

"Read it aloud." Wraith said.

"Okay…" Wattson cleared her throat before reading the cover, "'For _mon trésor_.'" She opened the cover and read the first page. "'From when we first met.'"

There was a picture of her and Wraith from Wattson's welcoming party. Wattson was smiling and waving at the camera while Wraith looked like she was caught off guard with a plastic cup held up to her mouth. She remembered that Pathfinder took that picture of them. He had been going around and taking random pictures of people, saying that he was trying to be like the photographer that had been hired.

"'To our first win.'"

The second picture was a picture of her, Wraith, and Lifeline sitting next to each other on a dropship. They were all covered in bandages and had gold medals that were on red and white striped ribbons hanging from their necks—Wattson holding her medal up to the camera. Lifeline's arms were wrapped around Wraith's and Wattson's necks while Wattson had one of her arms around her shoulders and Wraith had one around her waist. All three of them were smiling at the camera.

She turned the page. "'From our first holidays together.'"

Both pages were covered in three different pictures. The first picture was from Halloween the year before. Wraith was dressed up as a witch and Wattson was a vampire with little bats all over her costume. Both of them were making faces. Wattson was baring her hands and fangs at the camera like a stereotypical vampire would while Wraith threw her head back and pretended to maniacally laugh.

The second was from Christmas that same year. It was a screenshot from their first day of Winter Express games. They were standing on top of one of the train cars, Wraith aiming down her Prowler while Wattson was looking around with her Flatline in her arms.

The last picture was from Valentine's Day. It was after their last match of the day, the two having just exchanged gifts. Wattson got Wraith a custom-made purple-themed goodie basket while Wraith got her a box of assorted chocolates, a bouquet of roses, and a jumper. Both their gifts were in their laps but neither of them were paying attention to them. Instead, Wraith was covering her mouth and laughing at Wattson, who was wearing Wraith's mask from her Void Specialist outfit and pretending to be her. The mask somewhat matched her hair, which had been dyed neon pink so it would match her outfit for the season. It was a fun change of pace.

She turned another page. "'To our first show together.'"

The second page was a huge picture of them on the red carpet. They were standing together and both smiling at the cameras. Wattson was wearing a dark blue dress that went just above her knees paired with a plain white jacket and flats. Wraith, on the other hand, was in a simple completely black suit.

"'And from our first date.'"

There was a selfie of the two of them sat together at a table outside a coffee shop. Wattson—who was holding the phone—was holding a piece sign up and had her tongue sticking out. Across the table was Wraith, who was holding her scarf over her nose and mouth. It was clear that she was laughing at something and trying to hide her smile, but her smile was apparent in her eyes.

"'To our first holiday.'"

For once, it was Wraith holding the phone. Both of them were in front of a mirror in a hotel room, Wraith sitting on the bench below it while Wattson stood on the bed in the background. Well… she couldn't _exactly_ say standing on the bed. Wattson was in the air, having just jumped as soon as Wraith took the picture. The picture also captured the start of a smile from Wraith. She ended up laughing for five minutes straight after that picture was taken because Wattson accidentally hit her head on the ceiling. Maybe jumping on a bed wasn't _the_ best idea she had, but at least it got Wraith laughing.

"'I've made hundreds of memories with you that I will never forget.'"

The next nine pages were full of colleges of pictures they took over the last several months. Most of them were the two of them laughing and goofing around, but there were a few that were selfies or of them being serious while doing something. Wattson noticed that it was a mix of pictures she had said she liked and a few Wraith posted to her personal accounts. There were a select few that Wattson didn't remember taking or neither of them ever talked about. But every photo was perfect and heartwarming nonetheless.

"'And here's to thousands of more.'" Wattson smiled and looked up at Wraith. "Wraith, I—" She froze.

Wraith was down on one knee in front of her, a smile on her face and tears in her eyes. In her hands was a small velvet box that was open and held a ring inside. "Natalie Paquette, will you marry me?"

Wattson stared at her. Ten million thoughts were running through her head at the speed of her light and her heart felt like it was about to explode. Did she hear her right? Wraith— _the_ Wraith she had met less than two years ago and fell madly in love with and never wanted to lose—wanted to… _marry_ her?

A ten million watt smile appeared on Wattson's face. "Yes. _Yes_ , I'll marry you."

Book discarded to the side, Wattson immediately wrapped her arms around Wraith's neck as tight as she could. Wraith laughed and hugged her back, hands trembling as she grasped the back of Wattson's jumper. It didn't matter how many tears they shed or how much of a wreck they looked like. All that mattered was them and their time together.

Wraith let go off Wattson, hands cupping her face and wiping her tears away with her thumb. They looked into each other's eyes before laughing and kissing each other.

Both their hearts felt lighter than before. Any fears they had before about them not making it melted away in that moment. It was just them and the road ahead of them. But they didn't need to go down it alone, for they had each other.

So maybe getting snowed in was a good thing after all. Maybe it was a good thing that they weren't able to make it to Mirage's yesterday. If they had to do it all over again, they would also long as it meant they had each other in the end. They just needed to let it snow.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading this little Christmas one-shot. i surprisingly enjoyed writing this a lot and didn't expect for it to be anywhere close to being this long. but, i hope you enjoyed it just as me. and before you ask, yes, Wraith did say "je t'aime," i have a personal head canon that Wraith knows and speaks a few broken bits of French because of Wattson.
> 
> i'm not the most festive person and personally don't like the holidays all that much, but i wanted to wish everyone a merry Christmas and happy holidays. i know that this time of year is hard on a lot of people—especially since we're all quarantined and may be stuck with family we'd rather not be stuck with. so no matter if you're one of the most festive people out there, are like me and have been traumatised by the holidays, or don't even celebrate Christmas, i hope that December and the rest of 2020 have treated you somewhat well. i hope that 2021 treats you better and that life gets better for you. and most importantly, thank you for beinghere and being alive, i appreciate it.
> 
> Tumblr: @curiouswraith  
> Twitter: @curiouswraith


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